Jo arrived in Abu Dhabi with her family as a young girl in 1974 but in 1993 she decided to ‘escape’ to the ‘damp, sunless uncertainty of London and a typing course’.

Writing years later she gives her reason:

“I had seen people with good intentions sink into an easy routine, losing their drive, passion and values. One old-timer, who had done extremely well out of Abu Dhabi, referred to it as the Velvet Rut. ‘And that,’ she warned me, ‘is the hardest rut to escape.’”

Stuck in a velvet rut in the Emirates, opting for a more comfortable and prosperous life than back home? If so, it is good to reflect (with others?) on how this rut is changing us.

Some expats are stuck in a rut, not because it is velvety and lined with dirhams but because the employment opportunities are bleak back home and/or work experience in this country is not advancing their prospects elsewhere.

A large proportion of expats have consigned themselves to living in a cotton rut, working their butts off to send half their meagre salary back home on the premise that ‘this is my duty’.

1 comment:

Sounds like golden chains... Too many opt for a life of inertia instead of the interesting life. But then again, isn't there a chinese curse that says 'may you live in interesting times'. Well written Geoff.